The general public's first true insight into Freemasonry did not
come until 81 years after the Fraternity's founding, when two
books lifted the veil which so decorously had concealed the
Craft's activities, except as had been exposed earlier by the
Vatican and, occasionally, by heads of State.

One book was written by John Robison, a highly regarded professor
of philosophy and a member of the Royal Society of Edinburg. The
Scottish professor said he found Masonry on the Continent much
different than he knew it in the Lodges of England. Continental
Masonry, he wrote, exhibited "a strange mixture of mysticism,
theosophy, cabalistic whim, real science, fanaticism and
freethinking, both in religion and politics." He found, too, that
although everything was expressed decently, "atheism,
materialism, and discontent with civil subordination pervade the
whole."

A more detailed expose of the Craft was set forth in a
four-volume work by the Abbe Augusten de Barruel, a refugee from
Revolutionary France , whose third volume was going to press just
as Robison's book was being published.

Barruel charged that many years prior to the French Revolution,
men who called themselves "philosophers," conspired against God
of the Gospel, against Christianity, without distinction of
worship. The grand object of the "conspiracy;" the Abbe asserted,
was to overturn every altar where Christ was adored.

These philosophers, the Abbe asserted, formed the sophisters of
rebellion, who joined with Freemasons-a group he characterized as
having a "long history" of hatred for Christ and kings.
Continuing, the French-born cleric said that from this coalition
came the "Sophisters of Impiety and Anarchy," who conspired
"against every religion, every government, against all civil
society, and even against all property . . " This latter crowd
became known as the llluminati, from which sprang the Jacobins.

Although this philosophy was believed to have been gestated in
England, in reality, said the Abbe, it is "the error of every man
who judges everything by the standard of his own reason, and
rejects in all religious matters every authority that is not
derived from the light of nature. It is the error of denying
every possibility of any mystery beyond the limits of man's
reason, and the discard of Revelation."

The leading "philosophers" of whom Barruel spoke were the major
Encyclopedists: Voltaire, Frederick II, King of Prussia, Denis
Diderot and Jean D'Alembert. These men, he asserted, "acted in
concert" to destroy Christianity and, he declared, the proofs of
the conspiracy are drawn from their writings.

The Abbe quoted Voltaire as saying: "I am weary of hearing people
repeat that twelve men have been sufficient to establish
Christianity, and I will prove that one man may suffice to
overthrow it."

The French historian noted that the principal Encyclopedists had
a secret language and, in that connection, he cited a letter from
Voltaire to D'Alembert in which it is stated: "the vine of truth
is well cultivated. Translated, the statement means: "We make
amazing progress against religion."

Masonic sources, it should be noted, frequently have pointed out
that most of the major actors among the Encyclopedists were
Masons.

[In that regard, Robison and Barruel are cited rather extensively
in the following paragraphs, in order to establish that what was
attested to of Masonry in Europe in the 18th Century has been
confirmed by Masonic sources as a substantially accurate
representation of Freemasonry in America and Europe in the 20th
Century.]

Barruel said he was invited to become a member of the lower
grades of Masonry, and consented to take the first two degrees
which were given to him outright and in a humorous vein.

However, the third degree ritual demanded unswerving obedience to
the orders of the Grand Master, even though those orders might be
contrary to the King, or any other sovereign. Despite not
agreeing to so bind himself, Barruel received the degree of
Master Mason

Those admitted to the first three degrees of Masonry, he
explained, learn that Masonic and Christian eras do not coincide.
For the Mason, the Year of Light begins at Creation, thus
ante-dating Moses, the Prophets and Jesus Christ

He noted that many beliefs of Masonry are quite similar to the
beliefs and practices of the Manachees, such as the "follies" of
the Kabbalah and magic; indifference to all religion; the same
terrible oaths; and symbols of sun, moon and stars used inside
the lodges.

The French cleric described his own initiation and its attendant
ceremonies and oaths. His accountt confirms that the Craft's
degree and initiatory ceremonies of 1798 are almost identical to
the Fraternity's practices today.

He said his own initiation gave him sufficient credibility to
converse with those whom he know to be more advanced in Masonry,
"and in many of these interviews it happened, that,
notwithstanding all their secrecy, some unguarded expressions
escaped the most zealous adepts, which threw light on the
subject." Other Masons, he continued, lent him their books,
"presuming that their obscureness and the want of essential
words, or the method of discovering them, would baffle all my
attempts to understand them."

With such understanding, he was able to learn the degree of
Knight of the Rose Crucis, "or the Rosicrucians." The ornaments
of the Lodge in that degree recall to the candidate "the solemn
Mystery of Mount Calvary."

The Lodge room was draped in black with an altar prominently
displayed, above which were three crosses. The middle one bore
the inscription: "I.N.R.I."

"The brethren in sacerdotal vestments are seated on the ground
in the most profound silence, resting their heads on their arms
to represent their grief," Barruel wrote.

But, he said, it was "not the death of the Son of God, who died
victim of our sins, that was the cause of their affliction."
Rather, it was Christ's Crucifixion and the establishment of
Christianity which moved the brethren to mourn loss of "the word,
that is [their] pretended natural Religion . . . ," which dates
from that sacred Day.

This was evidenced in the ceremony, the Abbe said, by the
response of the Senior Warden when he is asked the time of day by
the Master of the Lodge. The Warden replied:

"It is the first hour of the day, the time when the veil of the
temple was rent asunder, when darkness and consternation was
spread over the earth, when the light was darkened, when the
implements of Masonry were broken, when the flaming star
disappeared, when the cubic stone was broken, when the word was
lost."

Those revelations about the Philosophy and activities of
Freemasonry were no less sensational than were the disclosures of
Barruel and Robison regarding the Bavarian Order of llluminati.
The Order was a secret society founded by Professor Adam
Weishaupt of Ingolstadt, Germany, and records show it was closely
intwined with Masonry. Members of the Order, Barruel found, were
the secret Masters of Masonry.

Knowledge of the Order became public during search of a house
occupied by one of the leaders, as well as by conununications
discovered at the Castle of Sandersdorf, a meeting place of the
group. Other infortmation was made known by an unidentified spy
within the Order, and by depositions given by four professors of
the Marianen Academy in Bavaria, who were members of the
Organization.

Weishaupt held views which, in later years, were echoed by the
founding philosophers and adepts of international Conununism, as
well as others. Weishaupt proclaimed:

"Liberty and Equality are the essential rights that man in his
original and primitive perfection received from nature. Property
struck the first blow at Equality; political society or
Governments were the first dispossessors of Liberty: the
supporters of Governments and Property are the religious and
civil laws; therefore, to reinstate man in his primitive rights
of Equality and Liberty, we must begin by destroying all
Religion, all civil society and finish by the destruction of all
Property."

According to Barruel, the doctrines of Illuminism came to Europe
from Egypt through a Jutland merchant.

Although Weishaupt hated religion, above all the Catholic Church,
he greatly admired the effectiveness of her religious orders-
particularly the Jesuits-in spreading the Gospel throughout the
world. "What these men have done for the altar and throne, why
should I not do in opposition to the altar and throne,; the
Bavarian professor remarked.

Robison, referring to testimony of the four Marianen Academy
professors, said the Order of Illuminati abjured Christianity;
promoted sensual pleasures; considered suicide justifiable;
viewed patriotism and loyalty to country as narrow-minded
prejudices incompatible with universal benevolence; held private
property a hindrance to happiness; and insisted that the goals of
the Order were superior to all else.

Also, he observed, members of the Order could be found only in
the Lodges of Masonry.

The Edinburg scholar said members of the group "insinuated
themselves into all public offices, and particularly into the
courts of justice."

Weishaupt told his followers: "We must win the common people in
every corner. This will be obtained chiefly by means of the
schools, and by open, hearty behavior. Show condescension,
popularity, and toleration of their prejudices, which we at
leisure shall root out and dispel."

Continuing in the same vein, he said: "If a writer publishes
anything that attracts notice, and is in itself just but does not
accord with our plan, we must endeavor to win him over-or decry
him."

The strength of the Order of Illuminati, he said, lies in its
concealment; let it never appear in any place in its own name,
but always covered by another name and another occupation. None
is fitter than the three lower degrees of Freemasonry. . . .

In addition to Masonry as a cover for Illuminati activities,
Weishaupt recommended that members if the Order find concealment
in "a learned or literary society" which "may be a powerful
engine in our hands."

He taught his followers to try to obtain influence in all offices
which have any effect in "forming or in managing, or even in
directing the mind of man. . . "

All members of the Order, he said, "must be assisted . . . [and]
preferred to all persons otherwise of equal merit."

The organization believed that Jesus established no new religion,
but only "set religion and reason in their ancient rights."

Using the arcane language of Illuminism to explain his views on
social conditions and the remedy for shaping society in the
Order's mold, Weishaupt, in a letter to a colleague, referred to
a "rough, split, and polished stone:' The differences were
explained as characterizing the rough and split stones as man's
condition under civil government: "rough by ever fretting
inequality of condition; and split since we are no longer one
family, and are further divided by differences of government,
rank, property and religion." However, when these differences are
eliminated, and peoples of the world are "reunited in one family,
we are represented by the polished stone."

"Examine, read, think," Weishaupt admonished his devotees as he
urged them to understand symbols and symbolic language used by
the Order. Explaining, he instructed his followers: "There are
many things which one cannot find out without a guide, nor ever
learn without instructions . . . Your Superiors . . . know the
true path-but will not point it out. Enough if they assist you in
every approach to it." Thus, the need for the membership at large
to "examine, read, think."

The new Illuminee was "particularly recommended to study the
doctrine of the ancient Gnostics and Manichaens, which may lead
him to many important discoveries on the real Masonry."

The Illuminati, Robision said, hoped to use women by hinting of
their "emancipation from the tyranny of public opinion."

The great aim of the Order, said the Scotch scholar, "is to make
men happy," by "making them good." This was to be accomplished by
"enlightening the mind, and freeing it from the dominion of
superstition and prejudice."

Robison also observed that Weishaupt was firm in the conviction
that the Ancient Mysteries "were useful to mankind, containing
rational doctrines of natural religion."
Professor Renner, one of the Marianen Academy scholars who gave a
written deposition about his knowledge of the Illuminati, said
the Order bound adepts by subduing their minds "with the most
magnificent promises, and assure . . . the protection of great
personages ready to do everything for the advancement of its
members at the recommendation of the Order."

The Order enticed into its lodges only those who could be useful:
"Statesmen, . . . counsellors, secretaries . . . professors,
abbes, preceptors, physicians, and apothecaries are always
welcome candidates to the Order."

According to a joint deposition signed by Professor Renner and
his three colleagues, the object of the first degrees of
Illuminism was to train the adepts in the system of espionage.
Once the member had so committed himself to such nefarious acts
of espionage, treason, or other treacherous enterprises, he
remained in a state of perpetual dread, fearing his superiors
might at some time reveal the criminal activity, the four
academicians testified.

The revelations of Robison and Barruel caused a sensation, not
only in Europe, but in America, and were synopsized in newspapers
and recommended for reading.

On December 4, 1794, The erald of New York editorialized on the
history of the French Revolution, and said that history was the
history of "the Popular Societics, the principal moving springs
of action during the whole revolution." The editorial urged
owners of newspapers in the new nation to make the hisbry of
those societies known, and recommended the works of Barruel and
Robison.

Further evidence of the popularity of the works of Barruel and
Robison in America was indicated when a Protestant minister, G.W.
Snyder of Frederick, Maryland, sent to President George
Washington a copy of Robison's book, with a covering letter,. He
said the President should be familiar with many of the points
made by the Scottish scholar, since Mr. Washington was himself a
Mason.

The President responded by noting that he never had presided over
any Masonic Lodge, and had visited such establishments very
seldom. Further, he observed, he did not believe the Lodges in
the United States were "contaminated" with the principles of
Illuminism.

In a follow-up letter to Rev. Snyder, the President elaborated on
his position and conceded that the doctrines of the Illuminism
and Jacobins had indeed spread to the United States. No one, Mr.
Washington said, "is more truly satisfied of this fact than I
am."

Continuing, he said: " . . I did not believe that the Lodges of
Freemasons in this country had, as societies, endeavored to
propagate the diabolical tenets of the first [the Illuminati], or
the pernicious principles of the latter [Jacobins] (if they are
susceptible of separation). That individuals of them [Masonic
Lodges] may have done it, or that the founder or instrument
employed to found the Democratic Societies in the United States,
may have had these objects; and actually had a separation of the
People from their Government in view, is too evident to be
questioned."

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